The "game" they played behind closed doors wasn't something that could ever be spoken of in polite company, yet Yue knew with absolute certainty that her body belonged to him just as much as his belonged to her.
Naturally, while Yue rested, Suzuki kept working.
He wasn't a total workaholic, of course. He had taken a solid 48-hour break, resting with Yue in the absolute comfort of his penthouse. And even when he did step away to handle his tasks, she was never bored. His penthouse was the ultimate sanctuary, fully stocked with modern entertainment. While it felt bizarre to do so at the bottom of a deadly labyrinth, the two of them had spent hours simply cuddling and binge-watching Netflix and HBO shows together.
"Even after three hundred years, I don't think I could ever get bored here..." Yue muttered, leaning happily against his shoulder during their downtime.
It was a blissful period of rest, but Suzuki still had business to attend to. Yue planned to join him as soon as she showered, mostly because her current scent was just too... lewd.
In truth, even if Suzuki did nothing, he would still be lightyears ahead of the competition. Unlike the canon protagonist, Nagumo, Suzuki's original job was a [Merchant], which fundamentally changed how he interacted with the world's resources. In a standard fantasy story, the hero usually takes a single fang or scale as a trophy and leaves the rest of a multi-ton monster carcass to rot.
Suzuki wasn't entirely sure what Nagumo would have done, but without proper spatial storage, the boy likely would have wasted the vast majority of the Hydra's body.
To Suzuki, leaving the Hydra behind was utterly unacceptable. It wasn't just a corpse; it was a massive, rotting pile of premium, high-grade capital.
Furthermore, with his Merchant skills, he didn't have to painstakingly carve the beast by hand. He could directly absorb the body parts into his absolute storage, perfectly categorizing them while completely halting any organic decay.
So, what exactly did he harvest?
"High-density Azantium scales, hyper-toxic venom glands, and a mythological-tier magic crystal," he noted, casually tapping the beast's severed armor with his polished dress shoe. The density was incredible—perfect for crafting armor. "I am so glad I rolled the Merchant class."
Indestructible black scales, reinforced bones, venom sacs, pristine meat, and a massive, glowing red Magic Crystal. Every single piece was neatly sorted and filed away in his spatial inventory.
"Are you done?" Yue asked curiously, stepping out of the penthouse door.
"Yeah."
"Then let's go back inside." Yue clung to his arm, looking up at him with a cute, indulgent, yet unmistakably sultry expression.
"..."
Who was the real pervert here? Suzuki wondered inwardly.
"Aren't you the one who makes me act like this?" Yue pouted, easily reading his silence.
"Yes, yes. I am the corrupted one," Suzuki sighed in defeat, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Her scent was intoxicating. She frequently used the premium soaps and beauty products he bought via Online Shopping, but even without them, her natural fragrance was uniquely sweet. Having been submerged in the Holy Dew (Ambrosia) for three hundred years, her very cells had absorbed its essence. It was a faint, sugary, ethereal fragrance—like vanilla mixed with fresh rain. It was a perfectly "clean" smell that never faded, even after a brutal battle.
"Your scent is nice," he murmured.
Yue smiled brightly, snuggling closer. "Yours too. But shouldn't we go get our rewards now?"
"Right."
In the canon story, the ultimate reward for conquering the abyss was the hidden sanctuary of Oscar Orcus, one of the legendary Mavericks.
Naturally, Suzuki wasn't about to leave without it. Hand in hand, they stepped into a perfectly preserved, magically climate-controlled mansion hidden at the very bottom of the world. And, just as naturally, Suzuki fully intended to strip the place down to the copper wiring.
"This place isn't nearly as nice as your penthouse, Suzuki," Yue observed, looking around.
"It was built thousands of years ago, to be fair. When you consider the era, this guy's craftsmanship is actually incredibly impressive."
"I suppose, when you put it that way..."
The sanctuary was a massive, luxurious living space complete with a kitchen, plush beds, a magical hot spring bath, and a pristine workshop. By Tortus's standards, it was the greatest architectural marvel in the world. But compared to Suzuki's modern, fully furnished penthouse... it was a bit lacking.
Usually, they would have bathed and relaxed, but having already done so in the penthouse, they headed straight for the vault. They walked into Oscar's massive storage room, and Suzuki's eyes scanned the impossible wealth before him.
The room was stacked floor-to-ceiling with ingots of Azantium, Shtar Ore, Taur Stone, and massive reserves of God Crystals.
"I see..."
Suzuki finally understood how Nagumo had the raw materials to craft his ridiculous arsenal in the original story, despite never showing a genuine interest in wealth or resource management. He had just inherited a billionaire's bunker.
"Suzuki, look."
Yue pointed toward a small pedestal. Resting on it was a crimson ring, which Suzuki had also just spotted.
"You should take it," she urged.
"Thanks."
Suzuki didn't immediately slip it onto his finger. Instead, he used his [Appraisal] to verify its function.
"What does it do?"
"It's the master key to this labyrinth."
With this ring, he legally "owned" the Orcus dungeon. He could manipulate the floors, control the remaining monsters, and teleport anywhere within the labyrinth's borders. He had just become the sole proprietor of the most dangerous, high-value real estate in all of Tortus.
Why didn't Nagumo ever think to monetize this? Suzuki wondered in genuine disbelief, but he also understood that Nagumo's focus was different from his, and while it was easy for him, it took Nagumo everything to just arrive at this place.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm just wondering what I should do with this place."
"That makes sense," Yue nodded in agreement. "Though your penthouse is still better."
"..."
In terms of sheer square footage, his penthouse might have been a bit smaller, but the comfort and entertainment value were simply in another dimension.
"Let's check out the rest of the vault, then we can go back home," Suzuki said.
"Yeah..." Yue agreed eagerly, clearly anxious to return to their private space so they could resume their "celebration."
Is she a vampire or a succubus? Suzuki questioned silently.
In the center of the grand workshop stood a massive magical monolith—Oscar Orcus's diary and his final message to whoever managed to conquer his labyrinth. When Suzuki touched the stone, a magical hologram of Oscar flickered to life.
"Welcome, conqueror! I am overjoyed to know that you have bested this dungeon. But the truth you must now face is that this world is far from simple..."
"..."
Oscar launched into a dramatic, profoundly sorrowful monologue. He explained how the God of the world, Ehit, was actually an evil, parasitic entity treating Tortus like a chessboard, and how the Liberators had fought and died trying to stop his madness.
If this were Kouki, he would have wept tears of righteous justice. If it were Hajime, he would have raged against the heavens. Suzuki simply nodded, completely unsurprised.
He already knew the plot, of course, but it was nice to have the due diligence confirmed.
"Suzuki..." Yue looked at him, concerned by his lack of reaction.
"It's fine. It's really not that surprising."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Even in my world, this kind of corporate structure is pretty standard."
To Suzuki's mind, Ehit was just a corrupt CEO or a tyrannical government hoarding the wealth of the working class. The Liberators were simply corporate whistleblowers who got silenced to protect the company's stock price.
"I beg of you!" Oscar's hologram pleaded passionately. "Please, inherit our will! Defeat the mad god!"
Suzuki reached out and casually turned the hologram off, accepting the system prompt for his reward.
"...Is it really okay for you to just shut him off mid-sentence?" Yue asked, blinking.
"I get the gist. He was just going to ask me to fight Ehit. I already have a plan for that."
"So you are going to fight a god?"
"No." Suzuki shook his head. "Fighting is risky and inefficient. I am going to bankrupt him. I'm going to strip away his assets, take over his monopoly, and seize everything he owns."
"..." Yue stared at him.
Instead of violently slaying the god like a traditional fantasy hero, Suzuki was going to execute a hostile corporate takeover. After all, Ehit was an immensely powerful entity; killing him outright was a massive waste of human resources.
Suzuki didn't want to grant Ehit the glory of a martyr's death. No, his revenge was far crueler. Suzuki wanted to drag the god down to the absolute bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. He wanted to strip Ehit of his divine light and force him into the mundane, soul-crushing despair of a minimum-wage worker.
Wake up. Clock in. Work. Rest. Repeat. Forever.
That was his revenge.
"That... actually sounds wonderful," Yue grinned, a dark, incredibly happy look in her eyes.
"Right?"
It was a much cleaner, far more satisfying method than simply killing him. Let the god live so he could pay for his crimes with eternal, taxable labor.
"But before we draft the acquisition papers, let's claim the ultimate prize."
"Yeah."
Creation Magic.
This was the true treasure of the abyss. By conquering the labyrinth, the monolith forcefully uploaded the ancient, conceptual knowledge of Creation Magic directly into his mind.
It was an "Age of Gods" magic that allowed the user to manipulate inorganic matter at the absolute molecular level, imbuing mundane objects with raw, physics-defying magical properties.
Naturally, the moment he acquired it, his [Synergist] job evolved. Previously, his Synergist skills were limited to earthly, albeit high-level, blacksmithing. But combined with Creation Magic, the job mutated into an authority that could completely ignore the laws of thermodynamics.
Even better, because Suzuki possessed the [Snatch] skill, his personal version of Creation Magic evolved into something even Oscar Orcus couldn't have fathomed. He didn't just imbue magic into items. He could literally Snatch the conceptual traits of the monsters he killed—like the Hydra's hyper-regeneration or a monster's gale-force speed—and physically code those concepts into Azantium metal.
Standing in the center of the workshop, he let the ancient magic settle into his soul.
He raised his hand. A solid block of unbendable Azantium floating on the desk instantly liquefied. In a fraction of a second, its molecular structure forcefully reorganized, solidifying into a perfectly balanced, razor-sharp Karambit.
No hammer. No forge. Just pure, absolute authority over matter.
Why a Karambit? Because standard daggers were a bit too rigid for his Silat fighting style. The curved blade was perfect for close-quarters anatomical dismantling.
Yue leaned against his side, watching him casually bend the fundamental laws of reality without breaking a single drop of sweat. Her crimson eyes dilated with deep awe and heavy, possessive pride.
"So," Yue purred, a playful, dark lilt in her voice. "Are we ready to return to the penthouse now?"
He snatched the newly minted Karambit out of the air, smoothly slipping it into his spatial pocket. He adjusted his tie and took one last look around the ancient executive safehouse.
"Let's go."
Having stripped the sanctuary of every single valuable asset, they no longer had any use for the place.
However, the moment Suzuki unlocked the door and the two of them stepped back into the comfort of his modern penthouse, they both froze.
"...Who?!" three voices shouted in unison.
There, standing right in the middle of Suzuki's living room, were Shizuku and Kaori.